Tonight I whipped up one of my favorite recipes: The Pioneer Woman’s The Best Lasagna. Ever. I have a friend going through a difficult time right now and figure the last thing she wants to do is worry about what’s for dinner.

I’ve made this recipe before and it really is the best lasagna I’ve ever had. I cannot take any credit for it’s amazingness, it all in the recipe. And it’s so easy!

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I used 80/20)

1 lb breakfast sausage (my favorite is Bass Farms)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans (14.5 oz) whole tomatoes

2 cans (6 oz) tomato paste

2 tbs dried parsley

2 tbs dried basil

1 tsp kosher salt

3 c cottage cheese

2 whole beaten eggs

1/2 c grated (NOT shredded) parmesan cheese

2 tbs dried parsley

1 tsp kosher salt

1 lb sliced mozzarella cheese

1 pkg (10 oz) lasagna noodles

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbs olive oil to pasta water to keep noodles from sticking. The noodles should be cooked “al dente” as to not overcook them.

2. In a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain the grease.

3. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tbs parsley, basil and salt. I also add a tsp or so of sugar; a little trick I learned to cut the acid and reduce the “canned taste” of the tomatoes. Allow this mixture to simmer for about 45 minutes while you are preparing the other steps.

4. In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tbs of parsley and 1 tsp of salt. Stir together well and set aside.

5. Assemble the lasagna by arranging 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a 4 qt glass or ceramic baking dish, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half of the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon a little less than half of the meat sauce mixture on top. Repeat, ending with the meat sauce. Sprinkle the top with extra Parmesan.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until the top is browned and bubbly.

If you’d like to save the lasagna for later you can freeze it, or store it in the refrigerator for up to two days.

This recipe made so much that I even had enough to make a small lasagna for Adam and me to enjoy later. 🙂